Mark Meltzer
__TOC__ Mark G. Meltzer is the man behind the ongoing investigation in There's Something in the Sea, who embarks on a journey in search of his kidnapped daughter, Cindy Meltzer, which eventually leads him to the city Rapture. He was born in 1922, making him 46 years old at the time of events that occur. Thanks to the kidnappings, Mark is forced to abandon his life and search tirelessly for the underwater utopia. Mark is left with no choice but to go down a dangerous trail of clues and riddles that will serve as the only possible entryway into Rapture. Phase One Initially, Mark's investigation began with him noticing the recurring kidnappings of children all over the coast. At the time of these kidnappings, Mark was living with his wife Amanda, and his daughter Cindy in Fairview, New York. Vowing to discover who was behind these kidnappings, Mark began gathering information and enlisting contacts to aid him. During the first days of his research, Mark was introduced to Jeremiah Lynch, an eccentric Irish author who had taken some mysterious photos of items he had found while combing a beach. Upon Mark contacting Lynch for further information, Lynch revealed to that he had taken photos of a mysterious doll and footprints. He believed that these two things were related to the kidnapper of the girls. Mark was quick to dismiss Lynch's theories and instantly thought of him as a nut. About a month later, Mark gained some more concrete evidence of what he was truly dealing with. He had gathered some news reports on specific kidnappings along coastlines in Europe and began to piece information together. He realized that the victims were all young girls with similar physical characteristics, and that every kidnapping was reported shortly after sightings of a strange red light appearing in the water. Mark was also quick to see that the reports and press releases were daft and foolish - Mark seemed to be one of the few who actually noticed the patterns taking place. Whilst keeping up with the kidnapper, gathering more and more news reports of kidnappings (now increasing at an alarming rate), Mark remained alone for some time. Attempting to gain aid, whether it be from reporters or the police, yielded no results. Some that he reached out to went as far as suggesting that Mark seek professional help. The kidnapper continued to grow bolder as it switched from the European coastline to American shores, soon making as many as three kidnappings in one week. Continuing his research, Mark decided to contact the House of Representatives. While they, too, dismissed his theories, they directed him to the Air Force as well as ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). Through ONI, Mark was contacted by Roscoe Inman; he assured Mark that he was no longer alone, and promised to provide as much aid as he could. Inman provided Mark with some classified files from the Navy, and combined with all of his previous research, Mark was finally getting somewhere. He contacted Inman, believing that he had anticipated the movement pattern of the kidnapper. In the conclusion of the first phase, Mark drove out a the beach in St. John, New Brunswick Canada where he predicted the kidnapper would strike again. After staking out the location for three long nights, he managed to snap two photos of the kidnapper - the cause of all of the abductions turned out to be the Big Sister. With his evidence in hand, Mark frantically escaped, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the kidnapper had followed him. Mark continued to pay close attention to the kidnappings and noted that the sighting were moving back down the coast. He had figured out the Traveller's patterns, and determined that the next place she would strike was very near to where his wife Amanda’s parents lived. His natural curiosity drove him to take Amanda and Cindy to this house, where Mark spent their vacation staked out to get a photo of the "Traveler." His goal was to gain evidence that the “brass couldn’t deny.” He spent two nights staked out in the sand but was unsuccessful at getting a picture. Unfortunately, he attracted the Big Sister's attention enough that she followed him back to the house. The second night, Mark returned home to find that his daughter had been kidnapped. An investigation into the disappearance of his daughter was mounted, but Mark was held under general suspicion due to his association with members of fringe groups such as Phil Isidore of N.U.F.O.S. Mark was in a state of depression and felt guilty for the kidnapping of his daughter. In a letter to Roscoe Inman, Mark confessed that he had "put her in harm's way," and he asked Inman to continue the investigation without him. By this time Mark had already gained a reputation (wrongly) for being “obsessed with UFO sightings” and was admitted to Tollevue Mental Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Upon being released from Tollevue, Mark tried to capture the Big Sister near the Hudson River in New York, but ended up with three broken ribs and a broken leg. He was at the St. Ignatius General Hospital in New York, on April 25th, 1968. Soon after, Mark's wife, Amanda, divorced him for “recklessly endangering the safety and well being of his spouse and family.” It seems as though there was trouble in their marriage beforehand, as Mark mentioned that his marriage "survived by sheer momentum… staying together because it’s the way its supposed to be” Phase Two With Amanda out of his life (with the exception of divorce hearings), Mark decided to set up shop permanently at his Montuak vacation home. All that mattered to him now was finding all of the kidnapped girls, including his own daughter. With little to no leads, Mark reluctantly went into contact with anyone who would offer their help. This included Jeremiah Lynch, Phil Isidore, and later Roscoe Inman. Though he regarded Phil and Lynch as idiotic and foolish, he needed all the help he could get. Mark was also introduced to Benny Stango, the investigator who was assigned to Cindy's case. At some point during his research, Mark’s house was broken into and the Lunchbox Puzzle was left behind. If the puzzle is completed the "lunchbox" opens to reveal some odd things, including a cut out of Little Sisters holding hands, a drawing of a Little Sister with the Big Sister (probably draining ADAM from a female Splicer), and a letter coded in cypher that might be from Mark's daughter. The message reads: "It's cold down here daddy come find me." Possibly the strangest object of all is a splicer mask, which looks very similar to a concept of a mask splicers will be wearing in BioShock 2. Mark was able to make no sense of it; and he hoped the items were just a big hoax. Further information from his contacts provided Mark with a new lead: The Vanishing- a huge wave of disappearances that Mark believed to be connected with the kidnappings of the girls. Pursuing this lead, Mark gathered many news clippings and theories regarding The Vanishing. It was also around this time that Mark came into contact with the reluctant and paranoid French heiress, Celeste Roget. Midway through his research on the Vanishing, something stopped Mark cold. A Rapture record was dropped off in his study, possibly by the Big Sister. It features a song created by Sander Cohen called "Rise, Rapture, Rise" (also heard in BioShock). The ending of the song, however, is replaced with the eerie words of a Little Sister. Mark recognizes the voice to be that of his daughter. (It should be known that Little Sisters have never before called Big Daddies by their actual code name; only ever by Mr. B/ Bubbles. So this very well could be Cindy.) "Daddy? Where are you daddy? Are you going to come and find me?" Mark refused to give up on Cindy and blamed himself for her kidnapping. The discovery of this record confirmed his suspicions that the Big Sister has indeed been following him; and it fueled him more than ever. Continuing his research on the Vanishing, Mark gathered more theories and news, but soon dismissed most of it as hogwash. Among all of the leads he had gathered using the Vanishing, however, there was one that stuck out amongst all of the others: researcher Orrin Oscar Lutwidge. What was different from Lutwidge was the fact that he had vanished leaving many projects unfinished and in disarray. He had also uttered that he sought to find the "true Rapture". Mark decided that Lutwidge was a lead worth following. Mark chose correctly. Lutwidge was the key to the mysteries. After tracking down one of Lutwidge's burnt down workplaces, he discovered a recording that would put him on the correct path. This recording, the first of Lutwidge's many obscure riddles and clues, gave Mark the advice needed to advance. He just needed to decipher it. After avoiding Stango (who saw Mark as the prime suspect in his daughter's kidnapping), Mark discovered the puzzle box that Lutwidge himself created. He referred to it as "the three fold key with the sevenfold lock." Working furiously to solve the puzzle box and gain the next clue, Mark learned some more interesting things about Lutwidge from 2 of his contacts: Lynch and Celeste. Both of them claimed to have been in contact with him at some point; yet they each viewed Lutwidge in incredibly different ways. Celeste called Lutwidge a liar, a dangerous trickster, as well as mentally unstable. Lynch saw him as a playful rascal; a mathematical genius whose fun and games never went beyond just that - fun and games. Bearing these conflicting stories in mind, Mark would need to learn not to be swayed - anyone in contact with him could be playing mind games themselves! Soon after gaining the next clue from the box, Mark discovered the decrepit warehouse that served as the headquarters for Lutwidge's old business: Scarlet Sovereign Imports and Exports. It was inside this abandoned building where a treasure trove of clues to Rapture laid hidden amongst the dust and old floorboards. After infiltrating the Scarlet Sovereign warehouse, Mark came across the next pieces of the puzzle: a new recording, a mysterious jewelry box puzzle, and strange blank chart, illustrating nothing but a red Triangle with 10 lines protruding from it. It was also through the warehouse that Mark learned about Lutwidge's business-partnership-gone-wrong with Andrew Ryan. Mark feigned insanity in order to be admitted to Tollevue again and see R. Killain Quain (Lutwidge). Following Quain provided to be useful; Mark got access to Lutwidge himself, a brand new puzzle, and some classified files of the Hospital. The most pertinent item of all was the Journal of Lutwidge; his mad writings scribed whilst staying in Rapture itself. Though mostly gibberish to Mark, the events and ordeals Lutwidge describes in the journal can easily be associated with Andrew Ryan's sunken city. After the Tollevue escapade, Celeste Roget put Mark into contact with the detectives she had hired to find Lutwidge 10 years prior: Auger Detection. It was through this organization that agent Dash H. Carmady began collaborating with Mark. He was instrumental in finding Lutwidge's secret basement lab, in which he housed many secrets of Rapture not yet found. It was here that Mark was supplied with a large amount of answers, and then some more questions. Mark came across Lutwidge's souvenirs from Rapture, as well as his original, unedited manuscript of "Utropolis". It was also around this time when Mark first learned some of the Red Pawn's story; and how he had somehow betrayed Lutwidge after pretending to be loyal to him. In the final leg of Phase 2, Mark had begun to doubt himself, and the whole quest for his missing daughter. After discovering the lies of the Red Pawn, he no longer had strong beliefs of Rapture; thinking it was all an elaborate hoax to aid in the Pawn's fun and games. The Pawn had also begun to stalk Celeste Roget again, after ten years of being silent. At the same time, Mark was also being threatened by the Pawn, who was later revealed to be Jeremiah Lynch, thanks to the efforts of Dash and Auger Detection. After hitting what seemed to be a dead end, Dash also gave Mark the final pieces to the 5-by-5 Lock on Orrin Lutwidge's puzzle box. Once Mark had finally cracked it, he realized that New York held nothing more for him to find, and that Lutwidge's trail of clues pointed to the sea. Mark set out for Baltimore to meet up with Phil Isidore's maritime contacts; it was time to follow the trail to the end, and that required a ship. Phase Three With his money troubles and impending divorce hearing with Amanda looming, Mark set off to Baltimore to meet with Phil and a new contact. It was here that he first met up with Captain Ferrence, an eccentric and transport ship captain who agreed to take Mark on his trek to find Rapture, provided that he could pay. Mark used the last of his funds that he could access in his and Amanda's joint account. He gave Mark a cabin on his ship, the S.S. Nellie Bly, and then allowed him to travel with them on their journey across the Atlantic. It wasn't as simple as sailing into Rapture, however. Mark needed to continue on Lutwidge's trail of clues in order to gain the city's actual location; as well as bypass its possible defense system. The Nellie Bly was slated to make stops on ports around the world to drop off cargo. Mark couldn't interfere with this at all; he was along for the ride, like it or not. During the ship's different stops, Mark became increasingly uneasy with its crew and seemingly unstable captain. Loud arguments and threats amongst the crew members became a common occurrence. Mark learned several things on his journey with Ferrance. For one, he found that the Captain was intrigued by the infamous "red lights" in the ocean enough to follow one through a near deadly storm. He also discovered that the source of the crew's uneasiness towards one another had to with some cargo that Ferrence was shipping: cheap plastic Buddha Statues that were simply painted gold. Third, he learned that there was a larger organization of "Pawns" working for Lutwidge in the search for Rapture. Lynch, the Red Pawn, turned out to be a rogue even amoungst this organization. "The International Order of the Pawns (I.O.O.P.)" had many members that were involved in the search for Rapture. Mark then decided that he should look for them to help him in his search. He was directed to Tangiers by an interview that Phil had with Lex Harlan, editor of "Visionary Wonders." Harlan claimed that someone who called himself the Grey Pawn, and claiming to be Lee Wilson Seward had contacted him in an attempt to find Lutwidge. When Mark went to Seward, he was warned that Lynch was far more dangerous than he appeared, and that if Mark wanted to find Rapture he would have to beware Lynch's actions. Upon leaving Tangiers, Mark received a new radio message that was sent out to the Pawns. The message indicated the pieces were moving on a chessboard, once again warning that Lynch was MIA and untrackable. He then left Tangiers with the Nellie Bly and traveled to Cadiz, Spain. Here, Mark came into contact with the woman who made this broadcast: the Yellow Pawn. She gave him a folder with the identities of more of the Vanished, and Mark used them to track more of the people who went to Rapture. These included Zigo d’Acosta, Buck Raleigh and Naledi Atkins. When Mark asked for assistance from the Pawns, he was told simply "your agenda is not our own." The meeting, sadly, left more questions for Mark than it answered, especially considering the Pawns now knew of his troubles and his goal. It is uncertain how Mark's adventure will intertwine with the goals of the Pawns from this point onwards, but their refusal to accept him as one of their own may indicate that their goals are not all directed at Rapture. The drama amongst crew members began to escalate to an all time high; Ferrence and the 1st Mate were in an intense argument over whether or not the cargo should be dumped. It ended with the Captain giving the Mate an ultimatum: be gone from the ship by dark, or stay and never question his orders again. With the crew now beginning to choose sides, Mark and the 2nd Mate headed off of the boat in hopes that things would cool off. Upon returning, they discovered that half of the crew had walked. Arriving back at his cabin, Mark decided to figure out what was so special about Ferrence's cheap Buddha statues; by breaking one of them open, he discovered a concealed firearm. Ferrence was shipping dozens of weapons to some rebels at Le Havre, France. With half of the Bly's crew gone, and the 2nd Mate too drunk to think about replenishing it, Mark was going to be staying at France for awhile. He decided to contact his old acquaintance, Dash H. Carmady, and offer assistance in tracking down Celeste Roget, who was still missing. Around the same time, another friend of Mark's, Ulrich Broder, made a news report on Celeste and how she was allegedly killed in an accidental explosion. This report turned out to be misinformed, as Celeste wrote Mark a note, saying that he may be the only one she could trust. She arranged to meet with him at a hotel. Upon traveling there, however, Mark finds a note from the Red Pawn, stating he has kidnapped Celeste and that he demands a meeting. Determined to save Celeste, Mark acquired instructions from Lynch and they arranged a talk. Just before this, Mark tracked down Ulrich, who he knew was in the area thanks to his radio broadcast. Arriving at the meeting place, Mark asked what Lynch wanted in exchange for Celeste's safe return. Lynch simply requested that he and Mark solve the puzzle box together, and revealed that he thinks whatever Lutwidge found is worth millions. To him, it's a big treasure hunt. Reluctantly, Mark complied, and revealed the latest clue from the box. Lynch attempted to get Mark to come with him to his hotel to arrange an agreement; upon Mark's refusal, Lynch attempted to force him into his car. Mark pulled out the gun he'd found from breaking Ferrence's cargo open - a struggle ensued and they fought for the weapon. Luckily, Ulrich had stayed behind to be sure that Mark got out safely. He slammed his car into Lynch's, which in turn hit Lynch - it disorientated him long enough for Mark to jump into Ulrich's vehicle and get to safety. Upon returning to the Nellie Bly, shaken and perturbed, Mark found a reply telegram from Carmady. It said that Celeste had contacted him and was safe. In addition, he received a radio message from Celeste herself that indicated she was okay. He wrote a swift note to Phil explaining everything that had happened and then set out for Switzerland, hoping to get into contact with Celeste and maybe find some more information that could direct him to Rapture. Little did he know that he wasn't the only person searching for the heiress, and that they were not as gentle in their methods of obtaining information as Mark... Mark's Contacts Major contacts: *Celeste Roget (French heiress, possibly deceased?) (Went into hiding, revealed to be alive; Mark searched for her near Switzerland, and at present her status is unknown) *Jeremiah Lynch (Expert on Atlantis/Lumeria mythology, eccentric) (Conman, learned to be the Red Pawn and seeks "Lutwidge's Treasure" for his own benefits; Mark requires some of his knowledge, however) *Lieutenant Commander Roscoe Inman (Office of Naval Intelligence) *Phil Isidore (National UFO Society) Minor contacts: *Amanda Meltzer (Mark's estranged wife, sometimes offered help) *Benny Stango (Police detective in charge of the case of Cindy Meltzer's kidnapping. Saw Mark as the one responsible.) *Charles Molley (Amanda's attorney in the divorce) *Dash H. Carmady (Private investigator at Auger Detection; helps Mark track down vital information on Lutwidge and Celeste Roget) *Dr. Lyman (Mark's doctor from Tollevue Mental Hospital) *Lee Wilson Seward (Author and social critic; a special member of IOOP) *Lex Harlan (Editor of Visionary Wonder magazines; came into contact with RØd Killian Quain) *Ulrich Broder (German reporter who's been investigating The Vanishing) Mark's Address Fans are able to send letters to Mark at the following address: :Mark G. Meltzer ' :'P.O Box 4668 #32890 :New York, N.Y 10163 ''Bioshock 2 fr: Category:Characters Category:Something in the Sea